Barcelona Free Zone Hosts EUIPO, OECD Meeting on Intellectual Property

FTZ News: The Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona hosted a two-day regional meeting that started Wednesday on intellectual property and free zones. The European Union Intellectual Property Office and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development organized the event. It runs through Thursday and includes officials from free zones in Europe and the Balkans, customs authorities, intellectual property agencies and companies.

Speakers on the first day included Chris Martin, chair of the OECD Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade; Antonio Berengue, deputy director of EUIPO’s international cooperation area; Piotr Stryszowski of the OECD Public Governance Directorate; Justyna Petsch of the EU4IP-WB6 project; and Sara Boy of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.

The agenda focused on attracting investment and technology transfer, helping companies in free zones move into higher-value manufacturing, and strengthening cooperation among public authorities, companies and technology centers to protect patents, trademarks and other intangible assets. No policy proposals or investment commitments were announced on the first day./.